This invention generally relates to a muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus and more particularly to a muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus that utilizes a single patient chair where the patient chair and the apparatus powerhead can each be independently moved to a desired position and orientation so that the patient chair can be placed in a large number of locations and orientations relative to the powerhead.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,910 a muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus is disclosed in which a person's knee can be rehabilitated but no other limbs. The muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,910 discloses a chair upon which a patient sits while his leg is strapped to a handle. The muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,910 was distributed in 1985 by Biodex Corporation, the assignee of the instant application, and known as the B-1000. While the B-1000 had certain additional circuit features in it not disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,910, it generally conformed to the description contained in this patent.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,694, also owned by Biodex Corporation, an improved muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus is disclosed. In the muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,694, a dual chair arrangement is shown for an apparatus that is capable of rehabilitating and exercising a plurality of joints and limbs. The apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,694 was known as the B-2000 and first distributed in 1986. While the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,694 has been widely sold throughout the United States and is suitable for its intended purpose of rehabilitating and exercising different joints of a person, it has two chairs and requires that a patient, who is exercising and rehabilitating one leg and wishes to exercise and rehabilitate the other leg, must first dismount from the chair he is sitting on and mount the other chair before exercise and rehabilitation of the other leg can commence. While this sounds simple enough, it can be a difficult procedure for a person who is injured and not fully ambulatory.
Muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus of the kind disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,694 is used by hospitals, physical therapists, sports clinics, etc. Frequently, space is at a premium in these establishments and while the muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus of this patent satisfactorily rehabilitates and exercises various joints and limbs of a person, nevertheless because of its dual chair arrangement it occupies a significant amount of space.
It is also desirable that there be an infinite number of positions and orientations of the muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus chair relative to the powerhead so that a physical therapist will have a wide variety of such relative positions and orientations to choose from when providing physical therapy for an individual.
There is presently on the market a muscle exercise and rehabilitation machine known as the OSCER, which is an acronym for OPTIMUM SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLED EXERCISE AND REHABILITATION. The OSCER is manufactured and sold by Chattecx Corporation, which is a part of the Chattanooga Group located in Chattanooga, Tenn. With the OSCER, a chair is provided which can be raised and lowered as required. A powerhead unit to which an exercise arm is attached is fixed on a support structure so that it can swivel relative to the chair. However, the powerhead cannot be moved linearly toward or away from the chair.
A further muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus on the market is manufactured by Loredan Biomedical, Inc. and is known as the LIDO Active. The LIDO Active includes a bench system having a flat bench that "breaks" in the middle. However, the LIDO Active does not allow rotation of the bench relative to the powerhead.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus having a single chair wherein the chair can assume a large number of positions and orientations relative to the powerhead.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus having a single chair wherein the apparatus utilizes a minimum amount of floor space.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved muscle exercise and rehabilitation apparatus wherein, during the course of physical therapy for a patient, a physical therapist will have a great number of positions in which to place the chair relative to the apparatus.
Other objects of the invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
In accordance with the present invention, a powerhead and controller are utilized which are identical to those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,694, the specification of which is incorporated herein by reference. The powerhead is mounted on a powerhead support stand and can be selectively elevated, lowered or rotated as required. The base of the powerhead support stand is mounted for linear movement on a powerhead support guide. Means is provided to allow the powerhead support stand to move along the length of the powerhead support guide in opposite directions and to a desired location.
Perpendicular and affixed to the powerhead support guide is a chair support guide and slidable thereon is a chair support. Mounted at the top of the chair support is a single chair. The chair support allows the height of the chair to be raised or lowered as desired and also allows the chair to be rotated.
In use, a patient is strapped onto the chair and if the patient is exercising and rehabilitating his right leg, the right leg will be strapped to the exercise arm which is driven by the powerhead. The physical therapist will select the appropriate height of the chair, the appropriate rotation of the chair and the distance from the powerhead to the chair. The position of the powerhead on the powerhead support guide, the powerhead height and degree of rotation of the powerhead on the powerhead support stand will also be selected by the physical therapist, all so that the person's right leg can be properly exercised and rehabilitated.
After the person has completed exercising and rehabilitating his right leg, the powerhead and powerhead support stand will be moved along the powerhead support guide so as to be located outside the person's left leg. The person's left leg will then be strapped to the exercise arm and he will exercise and rehabilitate his left leg, all of this occurring without the patient having to leave the chair.
By having the powerhead capable of moving along the powerhead support guide and the chair capable of moving along the chair support guide, a large number of positions and orientations of the chair relative to the powerhead can be obtained so that the optimal position for any patient can be utilized.